Flora’s Story
by Pinklover98
Summary: When Flora’s brothers return from war, the little girl learns to reconnect with them, whilst having to navigate a new world of having three overprotective big brothers around.
1. One

**Chapter 1 **

**AN: Flora is 6 at the start of this story, and it will be set straight after the war, leading in to season one. **

"Which ribbon do you want today Miss Flora?" Polly asks, pulling the young girl into her lap on the stool, the pair perched in front of the mirror on the dressing table.

"Purple!" Flora exclaims, reaching forward to grab the chosen ribbon, holding it out over her shoulder to her Aunt. "Please."

"Now, what's the first thing we do in the mornings?" Polly continues as she pulls the top part of Flora's hair into a plait. The young girl clasps her hands together in front of her, bowing her head.

"Pray." She replies, making the sign of the cross and beginning her prayer in her head. Polly pauses her work on her niece's hair, joining in with her silent prayer. "Please look after Arthur and Tommy and John. Amen." Flora finishes out loud, jumping off of Polly's lap as soon as she had finished weaving the ribbon into her niece's hair. The young girl moves across the room standing on her tip toes on the edge of the fire place, reaching up to carefully pull down the one picture she had of herself and all of her siblings, pressing kisses to her oldest brother's faces, before carefully placing the photo back where it belonged.

"Good morning Arthur and Tommy and Johnny." She whispers quietly, loud enough for Polly to still hear (unbeknownst to the young girl) who smiles sadly, tears welling in the back of her eyes.

"Come on then you." Polly says gently, her hand on Flora's shoulder to steer her out of the room.

"Pol! Polly!" Comes a shout from outside of the front door, loud banging following it. Polly pushes Flora back up the stairs behind her, racing down them herself, fearing the worst as she swings the door open to find their neighbour Jenny stood on the door step, gasping for breath. "They're home! They've come home!" She exclaims breathlessly, Polly's hand flying up to her throat as she lets out a strangled gasp.

"Flora! Get your coat on. Now!" Flora comes bounding down the stairs behind her Aunt, tugging at her coat to release it from the hook by the door, struggling to pull it on. Jenny steps into the hallway, holding the arms of the coat out to the young girl as Polly, in her own world, rushes around the downstairs of the house, gathering her bag, hat and coat. She swings her niece up into her arms as she moves back into the hallway, locking the door behind them as they rush down Watery Lane towards the train station.

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The train pulls in to the platform as the two women and Flora reach the station, the three of them hanging back, the two older women on their tip toes to see over the heads of the other women waiting to greet their loved ones.

"What's going on Aunt Pol?" Flora asks timidly, one hand clutching the fur of Polly's coat, her eyes darting around, taking in her surroundings. Polly and Jenny exchange a look, unsure what to tell the young girl in case her brother's weren't to arrive.

"We're just waiting for someone to arrive." Jenny says cryptically, shrugging at Polly's raised eyebrows. "Want a toffee?" She pulls a sweet out of her pocket, offering it to the girl in Polly's arms. Flora takes it gratefully, thanking their friend as she pops the sweet into her mouth, head resting back against Polly's shoulder, this time, one hand clutches the back of Polly's coat, the other running her fingers through the fur on the collar. Flora gasps suddenly, head bolting upright as the crowd clears somewhat in front of her.

"Aunt Pol!" She whispers, pointing a finger forwards. "It's Tommy. That's Tommy!" She wiggles in her Aunt's arms, Tommy's face softening as he spots his Aunt and baby sister at the back of the crowd.

"Do you want to go to him?" Polly asks softly, moving to place Flora on the ground. Despite her excitement, Flora whimpers, hands clutching tighter at Polly's coat, shaking her head. Jenny frowns up at Polly as Tommy continues to weave slowly through the crowd, Polly shaking her head in confusion as she bumps the young girl back up on to her hip. Flora lets out an involuntary shiver, Polly pulling her closer. "I've got you."

"What if he doesn't remember me?" Flora replies quietly, eyes never leaving Tommy's face as he struggles to make it through the crowd, finally finding an opening to move more quickly towards his family.

"My Joey!" Jenny shouts suddenly, her hand clasping Polly's arm before she takes off into the arms of her lover.

"Pol." Tommy breathes quietly as he comes to stand in front of his Aunt, who had tears streaming down her face. "Hello Flora." He bends to his sister's height, giving her a smile which she meekly returns. Polly pulls him into a hug as he stands tall again, squashing Flora between them, who lets out a shriek of protest.

"Where are your brothers?" Polly asks, shifting the young girl on her hip, who still had a deathly tight grip on her Aunt. Despite saying good morning and night to her brothers every day, seeing them in real life had shocked the youngest Shelby into silence, something that was very rare for the fast paced, excitable little girl.

"There." She replies for Tommy, pointing over his shoulder to her brothers who were shouldering their way through the crowd.

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"Polly?" Ada shouts as she slams the front door shut behind her. "Is it true? Are they back?" She stops short in the doorway of the kitchen where her brother's were sat at the kitchen table. Arthur stands first, gathering Ada into a tight hug, quickly followed by John and then Tommy. "I can't believe you're here." She breathes out, moving into the room towards Polly who was sat in front of the fire, Flora still wrapped tightly in her arms, Finn sat beside them, quietly taking in the conversations going on around him. Ada furrows her brow at Polly, silently asking her what was wrong with her sister. Polly cuts her eyes to her nephews who were watching the exchange, mouthing 'nervous' to Ada who frowns sympathetically. "Come here." She says softly, reaching down to lift Flora into her arms, swaying her gently from side to side as she whispers softly in Flora'a ears, her younger sister eventually releasing her right grip and relaxing in her sisters arms. In the years since their mother had passed, without being asked to by Polly, Ada had stepped into the role of mother to Flora, more so whilst the boys had been away. Polly had focused a lot of her day time attention on the company, Ada helping out where possible around the shop, but mainly focusing her own attention on her younger siblings. The sisters' bond had continued to grow, Ada always finding the time to give her little sister a cuddle before bed, no matter how busy her day had been, or how long her friends had to wait for her. "Have you said hi to the boys?" Ada whispers softly, moving Flora from where she had been resting against her chest, to sit on her hip, Flora's face still partially hidden in Ada's neck as she shakes her head. "Go on then." She gently nudges, turning her body so that Flora was looking at their brothers, who had resumed their conversation with Polly. John was the first to look up, catching his sisters watching the three of them. He smiles over at Flora who returns it with a smile of her own, lifting her hand to wave at him. "Go and give John a hug, eh?" Ada whispers, slowly lowering Flora to the floor, who hesitates for a moment, arm wrapped around Ada's leg until John pushes his chair back, leaning down to open his arms to his youngest sister. With one last glance up at Ada, who gives her an encouraging smile, Flora is off across the room, slowly, and straight into John's arms. He grins up at Ada, glad to be the one to break the tension between the baby of the family, and the three brothers she hadn't seen in years. He settles Flora on to his lap, both of them relaxing as she rests back against his chest, her tiny body releasing all of its tension as John begins to softly run his fingers through her hair (a habit he had picked up when Ada had been young and would occasionally settle herself into her big brother's lap). It didn't take long for Finn to follow his young sister's example, pulling himself up from his chair to slowly move across the room and to the side of John's chair. John quickly opened up his free arm, lifting Finn around the waist to pull him on to his lap too, the two youngest Shelbys quickly falling asleep in the safety of their brother's arm.


	2. Two

**Chapter 2**

"Good morning," Tommy calls softly as he enters the kitchen early the next morning. He had expected to be alone when he had decided to leave his bed that morning, not thinking any other family members would be awake at the early hour. He was shocked to find his youngest sister at the table, a piece of bread slathered in jam in one hand, crayon in the other. She looks up, eyes wide in surprise, giving her brother a small smile and a wave with the hand that held her crayon. "Where's Aunt Pol?" Flora, mouth still full of bread, points to the stairs, indicating that their Aunt was in bed still. Tommy raises his eyebrows, slowly moving to sit beside his sister. "What are you doing?" Flora nudges her picture towards him, Tommy picking up the piece of paper to inspect it closely.

"That's you, and that's Aunt Pol, and that's Arthur, and John, and Ada, and Finn, and me." Flora explains, now moving to push the plate of bread and jar of jam towards her older brother. "Do you want some too?" Tommy places the piece of paper back down in front of Flora, helping himself to a slice of bread and jam.

"Did you cut this yourself?" He asks, pushing the plate into the middle of the table where they could both reach it as Flora shakes her head.

"Aunt Pol does it for me." She explains, taking another piece for herself. "She does it before she goes to bed so that it's ready for me in the morning. And a glass of milk." Flora continues, picking up her crayon again. This had become a routine for the youngest Shelby, her Aunt quickly realising that no matter the begging from herself and Ada, Flora just was not able to stay in bed longer than she felt necessary, often waking her Aunt (and sister too in the process) as soon as the sun was up in the mornings. Polly had soon devised a plan that had allowed herself and Ada to sleep in, and Flora to be able to get herself some food, and entertain herself for a while until Finn was up. Despite this, Polly's body clock still woke her up at the same time every morning, the older woman listening out for the tell tale sound of tiny feet padding down the stairs and the sound of a chair being scraped across the floor as Flora settles herself in the kitchen. Although she could get up at the same time as her niece (and would have no problem doing so), she could tell that the youngest Shelby child enjoyed having a little bit of independence and alone time before the day began. "Do you want to draw with me?" Flora asks this time, holding out her box of crayons to her older brother. Tommy reaches across the table, grabbing the cloth laid there to wipe the sticky jam off of Flora's fingers, before accepting the box of crayons and choosing a colour.

"What shall I draw?" He asks, keeping his voice quiet as he had noted Flora had done, clearly aware that she needed to keep her voice down in order to make sure she didn't wake anyone else.

"Anything!" Comes her reply as she pushes herself on to her knees, eyes twinkling with excitement at the thought of her brother joining her in her early morning routine. "Let's draw..." she pauses for thought, tapping her index finger to her chin causing Tommy to smile. "Ooh! A pond! No, the sea! Oh, or a boat! A boat, in the sea! Fishies!"

"Fish?" Tommy clarifies with a laugh, Flora nodding enthusiastically. The pair sit in silence, Tommy drawing fish for Flora as she alternates between shovelling bread into her mouth and colouring in the fish. The young Shelby pushes away the empty plate as Tommy finishes off the last slice, once again wiping his sister's fingers and mouth clean.

"This fishy, her name is Cora, and she swims and swims and swims with her best friend Bob." Flora says, pointing to two of the fish, Tommy watching on in amusement as his sister points in turn to each fish on the page, telling him a story about each one. Tommy's head turns at the sound of a floorboard creaking behind him, turning in his chair to find Polly stood in the doorway, dressed for the day, watching the interaction between the pair. "Aunt Polly!" Flora exclaims, jumping down from her chair to throw herself into her Aunt's arms, Tommy's heart stopping at this sight of his baby sister jumping from such a height (compared to her tiny body) to hurtle across the room. Polly raises her eyebrows at Tommy's somewhat panicked expression as her youngest niece showers her face with kisses. "Me and Tommy have been drawing Fishies, and I coloured them, and we had bread and jam together, but I'd already drinked my milk so Tommy couldn't have that, can we get him some milk? I can get him a mug!" Tommy's eyes widen at the speed his little sister had been talking to their Aunt, the older woman completely unphased. The older Shelby had not heard so many words out of his sister, she had hardly spoken at all since the boys had returned, apart from their conversation that morning, her nerves at seeing her brothers for the first time in years, somewhat taking over. Flora wiggles in her Aunt's arms, silently begging to be let down to get her brother his own mug for milk.

"She's quite the little character, eh?" Polly asks as she moves to fill the kettle, her eyes glued to Flora on the other side of the room, carefully climbing on to a short stool to get a mug from the cupboard.

"She is." Tommy agrees, perched on the edge of his seat, ready to pounce at the slightest wobble from his sister on the stool. "Is she always like this?"

Polly nods, leaning against the counter as she watches Tommy intently watching Flora. "Always. Sometimes even more so. She talks about a million miles an hour, moves just as quickly. We have to remind her to slow down sometimes, she just gets so excited." She replies with a smile on her face. "Your Uncle Charlie's been a big help," she comments. "He's good with her, great even. Knows exactly how to deal with her. Says your mum was exactly the same as Flo when she was her age."

"Huh," Tommy responds, nodding his head. "I can see that, mum always had energy, can't say I'm surprised that she managed to pass it on to Flora." He smiles down at Flora as she places a mug in front of him, Polly stepping up behind them to pour Tommy a mug of milk.

"I'll help!" Flora exclaims, scrabbling up on to the chair and placing her hand over Polly's to 'help' her pour the milk into the mug. "For you." She states once the mug was full, pushing it towards Tommy who accepts it, thanking her as he lifts the mug, Flora's eyes latched on his face.

"Lovely, thank you Flora." He says, realising she was waiting for his response. She smiles up at him, plopping back into her chair with a satisfied sigh and gathering her art materials together.

"I'll go wake Finn." Flora states, hopping down from the chair once again and taking off out of the room. Tommy watches her go, listening to her footsteps on the stairs, raising his eyebrows at Polly as he hears Finn's shout of protest.

"There's no stopping her." Polly says, shaking her head as the youngest siblings begin arguing, their shouts soon joined with Ada's shout for them to 'shut up'. "I should get her." Polly's admits, beginning to head towards the door.

"I'll go." Tommy offers, pushing himself up to follow his sibling's shouts up the stairs. "Come here you." He says, lifting his youngest sister off of his youngest brother, Flora squealing and squirming in his arms as he carries her back down the stairs to the kitchen where Polly meets him at the door, taking the squirming young girl into her arms, sitting her on the counter.

"Now. You know you're not supposed to wake your brother up," Polly chides, Flora scowling as she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. "How about you help me with breakfast?" Flora glances over at Tommy who had sat back at the table, raising his eyebrows at his sister who pouts back at him, turning to reluctantly nod at her Aunt.

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"Where's Tommy?" Flora asks as Ada tucks her into bed that evening, her older sister sinking down on to the bed beside her, running her hand over Flora's head.

"He's out with John and Arthur," Ada explains, tucking the bed sheets around Flora, rising from the bed. Flora bolts up, reaching her hands out to Ada. "He's coming back!" Ada reassures her, quickly catching on to her sister's terror at their brothers leaving again. Flora pushes back the covers, arms still outstretched to Ada who sighs, taking her sister into her arms. "Tommy will be home soon." She says softly. "Let's lie down and wait for him, ok?" Ada places Flora gently back down on to the bed, sliding in beside her, keeping her tucked in her arms.

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When Tommy arrives home hours later, Ada was still laid in Flora's bed, neither sister having fallen asleep, Ada being kept awake by Flora's wiggles and sniffles of fear, trying to comfort the young girl who was fighting sleep until their older brother returns home. The second Ada hears the front door open, she jumps out of bed, Flora yelping in protest, quickly following Ada out of the room, pausing at the top of the stairs to watch her sister and brother talk.

"She's not slept at all." Ada whispers to Tommy, glancing back at Flora, Tommy following her eyes to look up at his sister who had sat down on the top step, her eyes fixed on him. "I think she thought you weren't coming back."

"I've got her," Tommy replies, laying his hand on Ada's shoulder. "Go to bed." Ada nods, heading back up the stairs, brushing her hand over Flora's head as she passes, the youngest Shelby quickly being swept up into Tommy's arms as he reaches her. He remains silent as they move into Flora's bedroom, Flora holding tightly to Tommy, silently refusing to be put down as he begins to rock her in his arms.

"Do you have to go away again?" Flora asks, sniffing back tears as Tommy stills, his hand resting on Flora's back.

"No." He replies gently, his hand moving to cup the back of her head. "I'm not going anywhere." He promises, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "Neither are John or Arthur. We're staying here. With you, and Ada and Finn." Flora's grip on Tommy tightens, burrowing her head into his shoulder.

"I don't want you to go." She whimpers, Tommy moving to lay down on the bed with Flora still in his arms.

"I'm staying right here." He reassures her, tucking the covers around her, keeping her tiny body pressed against his chest as she drifts off to sleep in his arms.

**AN: Thank you for the reviews and follows! This was just a sweet Tommy and Flora chapter to get the story started, hope you all enjoyed! **


	3. Three

**Chapter 3**

"Hi!" Flora shouts, flying across the playground into Polly's waiting arms, the older woman laughing as she barely manages to catch her youngest niece, waving to her teacher on the steps of the school as she takes Flora's hand in hers, leading her out of the school gates.

"How was your day?" Polly asks, Flora swinging their joined hands between their bodies as they head back towards Watery Lane.

"It was so great!" She exclaims, her walk turning to a skip as Polly smiles down at her.

"So great, huh?"

"Uh huh!" Flora continues, a grin plastered on her face. "We went to the park! And we looked at the flowers, and the trees, and the birds, and then we got to play on the swings, and the slide, and, and, and..."

"Slow down missy!" Polly chides teasingly, squeezing her hand. The youngest Shelby often needed help remembering to slowly gather her thoughts in order to express them to whomever she was speaking too, often getting either too nervous, or too excited, a slight stammer breaking up her speech.

"And then Miss Farley said that my spelling is getting even better!" She says, slower this time, her tone still portraying her excitement.

"Did she now?" Polly responds, brushing her free hand over her niece's hair. "Now that, I can believe! You're going to be smarter than me soon!"

"No Aunt Pol!" Flora exclaims with a laugh, falling into Polly's side. "You're much smarterer than me!" Polly smiles softly at this, choosing not to correct the young girl's grammar, instead laughing along with her. "Can we go and see Arthur? I want to tell him all about my spellings!" She asks, tugging on her Aunt's arm, who nods as they turn into Watery Lane, the betting shop coming into sight.

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"Remember, nice and slow." Polly reminds gently, her hands on Flora's shoulders as she guides her towards Arthur's office, Flora nodding diligently, eyes fixed on her older brother through the window of his office. "Special delivery!" Polly calls, pushing open the door to the office, Flora practically bouncing in her excitement to reach her brother.

"Florrie!" He exclaims, pushing back his chair to allow Flora to jump into his arms. Arthur thanks Polly with a smile as he pulls Flora up into his lap, Polly heading back out to the main room of the betting den.

"I wanted to tell you about my day Arthur!" Flora says excitedly, now bouncing in his lap.

"Well go on then!" He teases, digging his fingers into her sides, eliciting a laugh from his baby sister. Flora carefully retold her day to her oldest brother, taking pauses for breath every so often, remembering the caution Polly had given her just minutes before. She finished by reciting the conversation she had had with her teacher about her spellings, Arthur looking down at her with a proud smile etched on to his face. He found nowadays, after returning from the war, that he couldn't help but smile when Flora was around. Her enthusiasm for life and need to chatter away to whoever was around never failed to brighten his day.

"Well look at you!" He says once she had finished, name looking up at him with wide, smiling eyes. "We've got a master speller in the family! Hmm, let's see, think you can spell...Arthur?" Flora giggles at this, nodding up at him.

"A-r-t-h-u-r." She sounds out carefully, nose scrunched in concentration.

"How did you know that?" He teases, faking confusion as she continues to giggle at him.

"Aunt Pol taught me!" She replied. "I can write it too! Want me to?" Arthur nods at this, fishing out a piece of paper, and passing it over to Flora. She furrows her nose again, her tongue just barely sticking out of the side of her mouth as she mutters the sounds to herself, slowly and carefully writing her brother's name on the paper. Polly would often joke that the only time the youngest Shelby was quiet, careful and moving slowly was when she was concentrating on writing something down, teasing Flora that she would soon have to get her to write everything she needed to say to make sure they gathered the full conversation.

"Look!" She exclaims, pushing the piece of paper into Arthur's hand.

"Blimey, look at that! That's even neater than my handwriting!" Arthur replies, wrapping his arm around Flora's tiny body to pull her closer.

"I can write other names too!" Flora replies, head leant back against his chest to look up at him.

"Oh yeah? Show me." Arthur passes the piece of paper back to her, his younger sister leaning forward to rest the paper on the desk, tongue darting out as she concentrates on her writing.

"Tommy," she says slowly, pausing after each name. "John, Ada, Finn, Aunt Pol." She puts her pencil down, looking back up at Arthur who shifts her in his lap, looking down at her with a proud grin.

"Hey, you're pretty clever." He says, digging his fingers into her sides, making her squirm with laughter.

"Can I draw some pictures?" Flora asks once she had caught her breath, Arthur nodding in response.

"You draw your pictures, and I'll do some work, then we'll go and show the boys, how does that sound?" He suggests, Flora enthusiastically nodding, picking up her pencil and ducking her head down again. The two siblings sit in silence, both focused on their work, Flora glancing over at her older brother every so often, tucking his arm tighter around her waist when it loosens ever so slightly.

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"Arthur!" Flora shrieks in laughter as he carries her over his shoulder into the betting den later that afternoon, after having shared a snack of tea (milk for Flora) and biscuits, brought to them by Polly.

"Hey, look at this!" He shouts, waving the piece of paper containing Flora's spellings and drawings, in the air.

"Ey, there's our girl!" John calls, heading towards Arthur and swinging Flora into his arms. The little girl squeals in excitement, tightly wrapping her arms around John's neck in a hug.

"What's all this shouting about, eh?" Tommy asks, hiding a small smile as he walks through the den, hands in his pockets. Flora's smile widens at the sight of another of her siblings heading her way. Tommy comes up behind John, running his hand over the back of Flora's head as he presses a kiss to her forehead. "What's this then?" He takes the paper from Arthur, who motions for the rest of the boys in the den to get back to work.

"Looks like our Flora's been practicing her writing." John comments, looking at the paper over Tommy's shoulder, her head now resting on his shoulder as her eyes flit between her three oldest brothers.

"Miss Farley says my spellings are the best." She says, smiling up at Tommy who throws her a wink. "And look! I drawed all of us! All together!"

"Well, I think that deserves a treat, don't you boys?" He asks, looking between his brother's who nod at him.

"A treat?" Flora squeals, bouncing in John's arms. "What treat?"

"How about...some sweets from the shop down the road, eh?" John replies, smiling down at his sister who giggles, clapping her hands together.

"Yes! Let's go!" She exclaims, wrapping her arms around John's neck in another tight hug as he laughs, carrying her towards the door of the shop.


	4. Four

**Chapter 4 **

"Uncle Charlie!" Flora calls, tugging on Tommy's arm as Charlie's yard comes into view. "Uncle Charlie!" Tommy shakes his head, letting out a chuckle as his sister bounces around on the balls of her feet, attempting to call to their uncle despite being too far away for him to hear.

"He can't hear you yet Florrie." He says gently, the young girl pouting up at him, continuing to bounce around. The pair continue on down the path, Tommy pushing open the gate to let them through. Charlie looks up from his work with Curly as he hears the gate open, a smile covering his face as he sees his niece and nephew heading towards him, the former shouting out his name again. Tommy drops Flora's hand once they are safely inside the yard, the young girl flying off across the mud and straight into her uncle's arms, the older man catching her easily, swinging her up into a hug.

"Hello Flora!" He laughs as she throws her arms around his neck, hugging him tight.

"Look Uncle Charlie! Tommy came home! And he's staying here!" Flora exclaims, pointing to her brother who nodded a hello to his Uncle, having seen him the night before at the Garrison.

"I know. It's so exciting." Charlie says to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she drops her head to his shoulder, letting out a contented sigh. "Are you going to show Thomas the horses?" He asks, running his hand down her back. "Maybe he'll even take you for a ride." He whispers, Flora's head snapping up to whip between Tommy and Charlie.

"Really?" She asks, wiggling in her uncle's arms. "Really, really?"

"Really, really." Charlie replies with a laugh as the young girl squeals in excitement.

"Let's go get Midnight!" She wiggles around until Charlie places her back on the group, clenching and unclenching her hand in Tommy's direction until he takes her tiny hand in his, dragging him along towards the stables.

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"This is Midnight. She's my horsie." Flora states as she leads Tommy to meet the horse. She drops his hand, moving to drag the step that Charlie kept nearby for her, over to the door, rising onto it to pat the horse on the nose. Tommy glances over at his uncle, raising his eyebrows as the older man shrugs, letting out a chuckle as he moves to stand behind Flora.

"Flora helps us take care of all the horses, don't you Flora?" His niece nods enthusiastically, still running her hand over the horse's nose.

"With Curly!" She exclaims, once again bouncing on her toes. "Can we go for a ride? Please Tommy! Please!" Tommy lets out a laugh, as he nods his head.

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Tommy brings the horse to a stop as they reach a grassy field, sliding off first and lifting Flora to the ground. The young girl lets out a shriek of excitement, spinning in circles through the grass as Tommy leads the horse over to a nearby tree, tying her up there. Tommy settles onto the grass, pulling out the blanket and food that Curly had packed for the two siblings, watching on as Flora continues to run through the grass.

"Tommy! Look! A butterfly!" Flora shouts, chasing after the butterfly she had spotted, Tommy laying on his side to watch Flora as she continues to run around, giggling to herself. She lets out a disappointed sigh as the butterfly rises into the sky, flying off, the young girl changing her path to run at her brother, jumping at him as she approaches. Tommy catches her easily, lifting her into the air as he rolls onto his back, swinging her through the air. Flora lets out a shriek of excitement, arms and legs flailing as Tommy pulls her into his arms, holding her to his chest. She lays there, resting against him for a few minutes as she catches her breath from running around. Flora props her head up in her hands, elbows resting on Tommy's chest as she watches him looking up at her. "Tell me a story Tommy?" She asks, tilting her head to the side.

"What kind of story?" He asks, linking his hands behind his head as he watches her blink at him, thinking deeply.

"A princess story." She decides, dropping her head back to his chest as he sits silently for a few minutes, thinking of a story.

"Once upon a time, there was a Princess called Flora Jean..."

"That's my name!" Flora exclaims, head popping up with a wide smile as Tommy nods.

"Princess Flora lived in a huge castle, surrounded by water." Flora nods along with the story as Tommy continues, his eyes glued to his little sister as she listens, her eyes eventually beginning to drop shut, her body relaxing into Tommy's arms as they lay in the sun.

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"Curly makes good sandwiches." Flora murmurs as she bites into her sandwich, sat in Tommy's lap as they tuck into their picnic.

"He does." Tommy agrees with a nod, smiling at his sister's comment as she continues to hum in contentment.

"And Aunt Pol makes the best cake!" She continues, resting back into Tommy's chest. "So good!" Tommy lets out a chuckle, passing his sister another sandwich.

"Does she?" Flora nods enthusiastically. "We'll have to see if she'll make us some."

"Yes!" She exclaims. "We can ask her when we get home! And tell her all about our day!" Flora wiggles in Tommy's lap, leaning forward to pick an apple off the blanket. "We can tell her about the bunnies we saw! And the butterfly! And riding Midnight!" She lets out a gasp, turning to face Tommy who raises his eyebrows at her. "You can tell Ada your story about the Princess!" Tommy laughs again, pulling his sister back into his arms as she squeals in excitement.

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The minute Flora and Tommy arrive home that evening, Flora runs to the bottom of the stairs, swinging on the banister as she calls up to her sister.

"Ada! Tommy's going to tell you a Princess story!" Tommy heads into the kitchen, rolling his eyes at his brothers who scoff at him, Arthur holding out a bottle of whiskey to Tommy, who gratefully accepts it with a laugh, flopping down onto a chair next to his brothers.

"Fucking exhausted." He sighs, dropping his head back as John and Arthur laugh at him.


	5. Five

**Chapter 5 **

Flora skips down the steps of the school, pausing at the bottom of the stairs, sticking close to her teacher as she looks around for a familiar face to walk her home. She stands on her tiptoes, peering over the heads of the older children until she spots Finn and Isiah stood by the gate, waiting for her; the pair look up as she locks eyes on them, waving to her, calling her over. The young girl looks up at her teacher who gives her a nod and a smile, having also spotted her older brother. Flora jumps off the bottom step to weave her way through the crowds of children to meet her brother and his best friend as they lean against the stone wall at the edge of the playground.

"Hey Flora!" Isiah greets her as she approaches them, leaning down to high five her, the little girl enthusiastically slapping her hand against his, tucking her hand tightly into Finn's as the three children head out of the school gates. "Did ya have a good day?" Finn laughs, shaking his head at Isiah over the top of Flora's head as his younger sister launches into a fast paced speech about her day at school. As they turn into Watery Lane, time slows down for the two youngest Shelbys, as Flora trips over the raised pavement as they round the corner, hand slipping from Finn's as she drops to the floor. She lays there for a moment as the two older look between themselves in shock, before dropping to their knees, Isiah scooping Flora up as Finn brushes her hair from her face. The young girl takes one look at the concerned look on her big brother's face, sniffling as she tries to hold her tears in.

"You're ok, Flora. You're ok." Finn says quickly, trying to reassure his sister as Isiah pulls her to her feet, brushing the muck off her dress as she stands on the edge of the pavement, bottom lip quivering. Flora nods once, rubbing at her knee that was throbbing, letting out a gasp of shock as her hand comes away bloody, the older boys exchanging another glance as her eyes widen, seconds before her sobs being to rack through her body.

"Oh shit." Isiah groans, Finn looking up at him desperately.

"What do we do?"

"We get her home. Come on Flora girl. Let's find Ada, eh? Or Pol." Isiah suggests, taking one of Flora's scraped up hands, Finn slipping his own hand into her free one.

"I want Tommy!" Flora cries as the older boys drag her down the lane towards the house.

* * *

"What the fuck happened here?" John shouts as Isiah and Finn finally pull a sobbing Flora into the house, coming to a stop at the open doors leading to the betting shop, the walk having taken double the usual time with a sobbing Flora reluctant to move very quickly.

"She fell over." Isiah explains as John approaches them, dropping to his knees, cupping Flora's tear stained cheeks in his hands.

"Ah, Flora, come 'ere." He lifts his sister into his arms, ruffling Finn and Isiah's hair as he sends them on their way, shutting the double doors behind him. "Let's have a look at you, eh?"

"What's going on?" Ada asks as she jogs down the stairs, taking in the scene in front of her. "Oh Flo." She says gently, picking up on her sister's grazed, bleeding knees. "What do you need John?" John settles Flora on to the kitchen counter, standing in front of her to look at her knees.

"Something to clean this up. Some bandages. Maybe a treat, eh Flora? A biscuit maybe?" Flora sniffles, nodding her head at his question, keeping a tight grip on his suit jacket to prevent him from moving away. Ada smiles at Flora over their brother's shoulder, lifting the biscuit jar down from the shelf, holding it out to Flora.

"Which one, Flo?" She asks, brushing a curl behind Flora's ear as she peers into the jar, reaching in to pull out a biscuit.

"Ooh, good choice." John cheers, dropping his head down to pretend to eat the biscuit in his sister's hand. "Can I have some?" She lets out a squeal, pulling her hand away with a laugh. With Flora distracted by John's teasing, Ada wets a rag, gently pressing it to her knee to clean up the blood. Flora lets out a squeal of pain, squirming away from her sister; Ada sighs, pulling back, glancing up at John who nods, lifting Flora into his arms. He turns, sitting down at the table with Flora tucked safely in his arms. "Florrie, you gotta hold still." He commands gently as Ada kneels in front of her siblings, gently moving to clean up Flora's knees again, this time the young girl still squirming away but being held tightly by John. "You hold still for this, and I'll get you another biscuit." John promises, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Aunt Pol says I can only have one when I get home from school." Flora sniffs, rubbing at her eyes as Ada continues to gently dab at the grazes.

"Well, I'm saying you can have two." John states, holding her tightly to his chest. "It'll be our secret. How about that?" Flora looks up at him, wide eyed as she nods, John smiling down at her as Ada sits back on her heels. "There. All done. Should Ada kiss it better?" Flora nods, Ada laughing in response as she bends her head, pressing a kiss to her cut up knees.

"All better?" She asks, Flora sniffing as she nods. "Good." Ada rises from the floor, placing the rag into the sink as she reaches for the biscuit jar again, Flora reaching out to take one with a smile.

"How about you go and play with the boys outside?" John suggests, gently lowering his sister to the ground, patting her bottom gently as he pushes her towards the door. She glances back at her older siblings tearfully, pulling the front door open and stepping into the front step reluctantly. She watches the two boys play fight in the mud, pausing as they hear the door open to find Flora there, calling her name for her to join them. She gives them a wide smile, swinging the door shut behind her as she runs out to meet them.

* * *

Later that evening, Tommy and Arthur return from the meetings that had kept them away from the betting shop all day, John quickly filling them in on what had happened with Flora earlier that day. The young girl had stuck close to her older brothers all evening, hardly moving more than a metre away from Finn at all times, pulling her chair close to John at the dinner table, and when sent to play with her brother and nephews after dinner, had made sure to stick close to the door where she could see John or Ada in the house at all times. Arthur had stumbled off to the Garrison shortly after arriving home, already tipsy, his younger brothers deciding it would be best for Flora not to see him in his current state. John gathered up his boys as soon as Tommy had removed his coat, bundling them off down the lane towards their house, leaving Finn reading to Pol in the living room, Flora patiently awaiting her turn, sat on the back step. Tommy finishes off his cigarette in the kitchen before making his way through the house to find Flora who was now laid on the back step, a single piece of chalk in her hand as she drew on the step below.

"Hello Flora." Tommy says softly as he settles himself onto the step beside his youngest sister, who bolts upright at the sound of his voice, throwing herself at her older brother. Tommy lets out a soft grunt as her body collides with his, before tucking her tiny body close to him. "Alright?" Tommy smoothed his hand over the back of Flora's head as she clings to him, head buried in his neck.

"I falled over, Tommy," she says, pulling back to hold the palms of her hands up to his face, littered with tiny cuts and marks.

"I know. John said Ada fixed you all up. Let's have a look, eh?" He lifts Flora to sit her on his knee, running his fingers gently over her bandaged knees.

"Ada kissed it all better! And now it's not hurting anymore!" Flora replies, cupping Tommy's face between her hands. "Can I tell you a secret?" Tommy laughs internally at the serious look on his tiny sister's face, hardly believing there could be anything she was holding in that would be worth such a serious expression. "John gave me two biscuits! Two! And Aunt Pol says I can only have one when I get home from school! But John said that it would be our secret-" she trails off, eyes wide as she realises she had broken the secret she had with John, locking eyes with Tommy who raises his eyebrows at her. "Whoopsie!" Tommy gives Flora a rare smile, running his hand over the back of her head again.

"It's ok, Flora. I won't tell Pol. Your secret's safe with me." Flora lets out a long breath, collapsing against Tommy's chest. "Now, looks like you should have some reading to do. You got a book?" At Flora's nod, Tommy lifts her off his knee, sending her on her way into the house to find it as he sits, pulling out a cigarette to smoke as he waits for Flora to return.


	6. Six

Chapter 6

The second the bell rang to signal lunch time, Flora jumped up from her desk, taking her best friend Jessica's hand as the two young girls race out of the classroom door and into the playground. They find space in the shade to sit down, pulling out their packed lunches to dig into.

"Why don't you sit with your big brother?" Jessica asks Flora, pointing to where Finn was leaving the school building, Isiah Jesus by his side.

"I do sometimes!" Flora replies, waving at Finn who reluctantly waves back, dragging Isiah in the opposite direction. "But Aunt Pol says that Finn has his own friends to sit with, and he doesn't have to sit with me all the time. But he has to at dinner times. Tommy makes him."

"I wish I had an older brother." Jessica sighs, resting her head in her hands. "I've just got moody June." Flora turns, looking over her shoulder at Jessica's sister June, sat at the other end of the playground with her friends.

"Oh," she sighs, turning back to her friend, lost in thought. She gasps suddenly, sitting up straight, reaching forward to grab Jessica's hand. "I know! You can share my big brothers!" Jessica smiles widely at her friend, nodding enthusiastically.

"Can I really?" She gasps, Flora nodding in response.

"You can come to my house for dinner! Aunt Pol always says we can bring friends over! You should ask your mummy and daddy!"

"Alright." Jessica nods along with Flora, wiggling excitedly as they finish off their lunch.

———————————————————————

"Aunt Pol?" Flora calls, clambering up on to the stool she had dragged over to the counter, peering up at her Aunt.

"Yes, love?" Polly replies, setting down the knife she had been using to chop the vegetables for dinner.

"Can Jessica come 'round for dinner?"

"Jessica?" Polly repeats, brushing Flora's hair out of her face.

"My friend! From school!" She replies, letting Polly lift her up to sit on the counter, turning back to the vegetables she had been chopping.

"Of course she can." Polly says, dropping the vegetables into the pot on the stove.

"Tomorrow?" Flora asks, wiggling in her seat making Polly smile to herself at the young girl's excitement.

"If her parents say that's ok. I'll ask her mummy when I take you to school in the morning." She replies, giving Flora a squeeze as she throws herself into her Aunt's arms.

"Thank you, Aunt Polly!"

For the rest of the evening, Flora was bouncing off the walls, the excitement of having her friend come over for dinner was too much for the little girl to take. Her three oldest brothers tried their best to calm her, all proving to be fruitless in their attempts. Finally, Arthur scoops the tiny girl up from where she had been bouncing around from one brother's lap to another, finally tiring of all the endless high pitches chatter.

"Come on you, time for bed." He says as he shifts her into his arms, the young girl calling out to her other brothers in annoyance.

"But I'm not tired yet!" She cries, leaning out towards John who shakes his head, dropping a kiss to her forehead as Arthur passes him.

"No, but we are." Arthur grunts, heading for the stairs. He drops Flora gently on to the bed, tucking her under the covers. "Ok. Close your eyes now." Flora lets out a deep sigh of annoyance, laying on her back, arms flat beside her body, eyes tightly shut. She lets out a gasp, eyes flying open as she hears Arthur head for the door, turning her head to watch him as he freezes in the doorway.

"You didn't give me a kiss goodnight!" She squeaks, reaching out for Arthur as he sighs, making his way back over to the bed. He drops down beside the bed, pressing his lips to Flora's forehead.

"Sleep now." He says, tucking the covers back around her tiny body as she nods, closing her eyes again.

Arthur makes it out of the room this time, but barely makes it half way down the stairs before Flora calls out again.

"I didn't get a kiss from Tommy!" She cries, scrambling out of bed, throwing open her bedroom door.

"Back to bed." Arthur snaps, quickly moving up the stairs, scooping Flora back up and placing her back on the bed. "Tommy will come up later."

"I didn't get a kiss." Flora sniffs, lips pursed in a pout. "Tommy?"

"Sleep." Arthur repeats, letting out a groan as he shuts the door again, rubbing at his forehead.

"What's she upset about?" John asks as Arthur enters the living room again, noting the cries for their brother from Flora.

"Says she didn't get a kiss from Tommy." Arthur grunts, dropping into an armchair, lifting his glass of whiskey to his lips.

"I'll go see her." Tommy states, downing the last of his drink as he rises from the sofa, heading upstairs. When he reaches Flora's room, Tommy finds his youngest sister curled up on her side, tears streaming down her face, teddy clutched to her chest. "Come 'ere." Tommy says softly as he lowers himself to the edge of the bed, opening his arms for flora who crawls immediately into them. "What's got you so upset? Eh?"

"I didn't get a goodnight kiss." She sniffs, clutching at Tommy's shirt. "And Arthur was being mean."

"Arthur's tired. He didn't mean to upset you." He replies gently, attempting to sooth the situation. "Now, how about one story, and then off to sleep, eh?"

"Two stories?" Flora bargains, fluttering her eyes at Tommy who sighs, turning his head away.

"One." He counters, rising from the bed to take a book from the shelf on the other side of the room.

"Two." Flora repeats, crawling to the end of the bed, hands clasped in front of her.

"One now, one in the morning before school." Tommy replies, tapping Flora lightly on the top of her head with the book he had chosen, making the young girl giggle as she scoots back up the bed to curl up beside Tommy, happy with his compromise for now.

———————————————————————

"Let's go, let's go!" Flora cries, pulling Jessica along behind her as she races down the steps of the school, grabbing Finn's hand as she passes him and Isiah at the gates, tugging them along too.

"Oi, Flora! Slow down!" Finn exclaims, shaking his hand free from his sister's, shaking his head disapprovingly at Isiah as he laughs at the younger girl's excitement.

"Let her have her fun, Finn. She's excited." Isiah says with a laugh, watching as the two young girls race through the streets of Small Heath towards Watery Lane.

"Hello Flora, Jessica." Polly calls as the girls tumble through the front door of 6 Watery Lane.

"Hello Aunt Pol!" Flora shouts in reply, continuing to drag her friend through the house behind her.

"Hello Polly! Mum says thanks for letting me come for tea!" Jessica shouts as she follows Flora willingly.

"I'm going to show Jessica my room!" Flora continues as she reaches the top of the stairs, Polly calling an affirmative from the kitchen as she continues to prepare dinner.

Polly glances up from the stove a few hours later as Tommy, John and Arthur enter the kitchen through the doors leading to the betting shop.

"Your sister and her little friend have not stopped talking and laughing since they got home." She comments, nodding to the ceiling where Flora and Jessica's giggles can be heard through the floorboards.

"Sounds like she's having a good time." Tommy replies, pulling out a cigarette as he drops his jacket on to the back of a chair.

"She is. But dinner's ready, so go and get them, would you?" Tommy nods, heading off upstairs to find Flora and Jessica.

———————————————————————

"Did you have a nice time with Jessica?" Tommy asks as he tucks Flora in later that evening, perching on the edge of her bed as she nods enthusiastically. Dinner had been uneventful, the two young girls chatting and giggling the whole way through the meal, the older boys all sharing amused glances between each other as they ate the meal Polly had prepared.

"She said Aunt Pol's an even better cook than her mama, but that we can't tell her mama that!" Flora says, eyes wide, grin etched on her face.

"Better keep that a secret then." Tommy replies, winking at Flora who giggles, snuggling under the covers as Tommy presses a kiss to her forehead.

"I told Jessica you can be her big brother too." Flora yawns as Tommy rises from the bed, freezing with his back to her.

"You said what?" He asks, turning back to face Flora who was still smiling sleepily you at Tommy.

"I told Jessica, you, and Arthur, and John, and Finn can be her big brothers too. She's only got her sister June, and June isn't very nice to Jessica so I told her that she can share with me!" Flora replies, unfazed by her brother's raised eyebrows.

"Flo, you-" Tommy lets out a chuckle, rubbing at his eyes as he drops on to the edge of the bed again. "Flora, you can't just tell Jessica she can share your big brothers, it doesn't work like that."

"But why not?" Flora questions, tilting her head to the side, reaching forwards to twists Tommy's pocket watch chain around her fingers.

"It just doesn't. She has June, and her mum, and dad, that's Jessica's family. You have me, Arthur, John, Finn and Ada, and Aunt Pol, that's our family." Tommy explains, gently untwisting her fingers from the chain.

"Bu-but I promised!" Flora cries, tears filling her eyes as she looks up at Tommy who gives her a small smile.

"Well, Jessica is welcome round here anytime, she just-"

"She can't be your sister?" Flora cuts in, lip stuck out in a pout.

"No, she can't be. But if you want, I'll take you both to the park at the weekend if you want?" Tommy offers, earning another wide smile from his baby sister. "As long as you go to sleep now, eh?" Flora nods, letting out another yawn as Tommy presses another kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight Flora."


	7. Seven

**Chapter 7 **

**AN: I've done a bit of a time skip here to season one, so the story will carry on with the events of the first season. Thank you all for your lovely reviews, I really appreciate them and am so glad you're enjoying the story! **

At the sound of the front door slamming shut, Flora bolts upright in bed. She sits there for a moment, listening out for any more sounds from downstairs, shaking Finn's arm as she registers the sound of groans of pain. Despite her shaking him, Finn remains fast asleep, not being the light sleeper his little sister was; Flora huffs in annoyance, deciding to find out for herself what was going on downstairs, as she slips out of bed, creeping to the stairs. She tiptoes down the first few steps until the banister clears, and she can peer clearly into the kitchen, gasping at the sight she finds in front of her.

"Arthur?" Flora calls tearfully from the stairs, the whole family turning in shock at the sound of the little girl's voice.

"Bloody hell, John! You said you were watching the stairs!" Ada shouts, moving across the room to swing a tearful Flora, who had ventured down the last few steps, into her arms.

"I was! She must have slipped past!" John protests, throwing his hands into the air in frustration.

"Jesus Christ!" Ada sighs, Flora now sobbing in her arms. "Shh, Arthur's ok. Let's get you back to bed, eh?" Flora's sobs turn to screams for her brother as Ada carries her up the stairs, the young girl struggling in her arms the entire way.

"Bloody hell Ada, shut her up before she wakes half the bloody lane." Arthur growls from the table, Ada pausing half way up the stairs.

"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do?" She bites back, now at the top of the stairs, heading into her own room, away from where they could wake Finn, where she shuts the door, swaying the little girl in her arms, whispering comforting words softly into her ears.

"Give her here." Tommy commands after hearing his sister's continued distress from downstairs. "Come here." He says, gentler this time as he gathers Flora into his arms, pining her tiny body to his as he sinks to the floor, back resting against the wall as she sobs into his chest. "Shh, you're ok. Arthur's ok, eh? Everything's fine, you're fine." He soothes, rubbing his hand down her back, cupping the back of her head with the other.

By the time Polly has cleaned Arthur up, Flora's sobs have turned to sniffles, still clinging to her older brother as he runs his hand across her back gently, the pair having moved to rest on Ada's bed.

"Let me take her." Arthur grunts, appearing in the doorway, holding his hands out for Flora who swipes at her eyes, looking up at Arthur.

"Arthur you'll scare her." Tommy replies gruffly, shaking his head.

"She wants me Tom, give her here." Tommy huffs, unwrapping his arms from around Flora to allow Arthur to lift her into his arms.

"Come on then you, that's enough now." Arthur says, rubbing his hand down Flora's back as Tommy had been doing, the little girl clutching at his shirt as the last few hiccups shake her body, finally settling against her brother's chest, fingers curled around the material of his shirt as she rests her head against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart.

When Flora wakes the next morning, she stretches out, jolting awake to find the sire of the bed Arthur had occupied all night, now cold and empty. Swallowing the cry that was fighting its way out of her throat, she rushes down the stairs and into the waiting arms of Ada, who had hung around, purely to check on her little sister before heading out for the day.

"Arthur's ok." She reassures Flora gently, as she lifts her to sit on a chair, Polly reaching forward to push a mug of milk and a plate of bread and jam towards the young girl. Flora hesitates, her eyes searching Ada's as Polly repeats the older sister's statement, pressing a kiss to the top of Flora's head, both Ada and Polly laughing as Flora's stomach lets out a loud rumble, finally encouraging the young girl to break eye contact with her sister, pulling the plate of bread towards her. The three of them sit in silence, Polly reading the paper, Ada sipping from her tea cup, and Flora tucking into her breakfast, until Tommy pushes through the doors leading to the betting shop, Flora's head snapping up to watch him make his way through the house, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as he passes her.

"Wait!" Flora exclaims around a mouthful of bread, scrabbling down off her chair and rushing towards Tommy who had paused at her call, front door pulled slightly ajar.

"Flora, come and clean up your mess." Polly chides, hands on hips as she nods towards the mess of crumbs and the empty cup and plate left on the table by the youngest Shelby. Flora glances frantically between Tommy and Polly, pigtails whipping back and forth as she does; she spares one last glance at her older brother who meets Polly's eyes over her head with a bemused smile as Flora dashes back to the table, quickly scooping up her cup and plate, dumping them into the sink, before returning to the table to brush the crumbs on to the floor. She glances up at Polly, face flushed as her aunt raises her eyebrows, dropping her eyes to the new pile of bread crumbs on the floor. Flora takes her lower lip between her teeth, waiting for the telling off that she could sense was coming.

"Flora-"

"Tommy's going to leave without me!" Flora cries, cutting off her aunt, throwing her arm out behind her to point at Tommy who was still hovering by the door.

"Tommy's going to work." Polly replies, holding her hand out to Flora who shies away, leaning towards her brother who shoves his hands into his pockets. "You can't go with him. Come on."

"But Aunt Pol-"

"She can come." Tommy states, cutting off Flora's whine as he raises his eyes to meet Polly's as she raises her eyebrows at him. "I'm only going to check on the books at the Garrison. Arthur will be there too. But after that, you'll come back here and do whatever Pol needs you to do, alright?" Flora nods frantically up at Tommy, eyes twinkling with excitement. "But," he starts again, Flora looking up at him expectantly as he pauses. "You clean up your mess first. I'll wait." He reaches forwards, gently nudging Flora back in Polly's direction as the young girl sighs, heading back towards the table.

Tommy pulls the front door shut behind them as the pair step out into the muggy street, holding his hand out to Flora who immediately tucks her hand in his.

"We're going to see Arthur?" She clarifies, looking up at Tommy as he leads her down the lane towards the pub.

"We are." He confirms, noting how her shoulders drop as she lets out a small sigh of relief. Tommy reaches down towards Flora as they reach the Garrison, swinging her up into his arms as he pushes open the front door. "Now you need to stay right by me and Arthur. Got it?" He tells her, holding her on his hip as they pause in the middle of the entryway, waiting for the nod of agreement from his sister. At her confirmation, he drops her gently to the floor again, leading her through to the office, where Flora throws herself into Arthur's arms, the oldest Shelby letting out a grunt as her body collides with his. "Someone wanted to come and check you were ok." Tommy states as he shrugs off his coat, taking a seat beside Arthur, smiling as Flora curls up against his chest, as she had done the night before; she tucks her thumb into her mouth, listening again to the thumping of Arthur's heart beat as the two brothers begin to discuss the company, more than content to remain curled up safely in her oldest brother's arms.


	8. Eight

**Chapter 8**

Tiptoeing to the double doors, Flora pushes up on her toes, twisting the door handle and pushing it open gently, peeking her head around the door to peer in, eyes searching for her big brother. Eyes landing on him, leaning against the doorway to his office, Flora steps into the shop, pushing the door shut behind her as she creeps to the wall, shuffling through the gaps between the men standing around, to get to Tommy. Finally reaching him, she pauses beside her brother, silently lifting her arms up to him. Glancing down as he senses her presence beside him, Tommy frowns at the paleness of Flora's face, wordlessly reaching down and lifting her up onto his hip. Flora lets her body relax against his, tucking her head in his neck, Tommy tightening his grip on her, continuing the conversation he had been having with the men stood around him.

"Why are you not at school, eh?" Tommy asks as the men disperse, keeping Flora's body close to his, heading in the direction of his office.

"Aunt Pol says I'm poorly." The little girl sniffs against his neck, Tommy frowning as her forehead presses against his jaw, the heat radiating off of her making his concern grow.

"Aunt Pol says, huh?" He asks, dropping into his chair and turning her in his arms to face him, nodding in reply. "You feel poorly?" At Flora's affirmative nod, Tommy's sighs, pressing his lips to her burning forehead. "Lets get you back into bed, eh?" Rising from the chair, Flora lets out a squeal of protest, throwing her arms around her big brother's neck and clinging to him for dear life, her head now tucked back against his own. "Come on now, the best place for you is bed." He tells her gently, cupping the back of her head as she shivers in his arms. "The doors'll be opening and shutting all day in here, you'll just get cold. But we can tuck you up in bed, with a book, and a teddy, and a warm mug of milk. That sounds nice, eh?" Hesitantly nodding against Tommy's neck, his sister relaxes slightly in his arms, turning her head to peer up at him.

"You gotta work?" She mumbles, letting out a whimper as Tommy nods, running a hand across her back to sooth her as he heads wordlessly for the door of his office.

"I've gotta work, and you've gotta rest." He tells her, pulling the betting shop doors shut behind him and heading for the stairs. Letting out another shriek of protest, Flora tightens her grip on Tommy as he attempts to lower her to the bed, the older Shelby rolling his eyes at her actions, reaching behind his head to unclasp her hands and drop her gently to the bed. "No." He states firmly as she scrabbles to rise to her knees, his sister deflating visibly at his words and sinking back onto her heels. "Lay down. Come on now." He orders, tucking his hands under her arms, lifting her to lay on her back, pulling the covers up to her chin. He turns, finding her favourite teddy and a book to place beside her bed, faltering as he glancing back down at his sister, his steely exterior cracking at the sight of tears rolling down her cheeks, her tiny fingers poking out above the quilt tucked under her chin. "Hey, no, none of that. You're ok." He protests softly, dropping to his knees and brushing a knuckle under her eyes to catch the falling tears.

"I don't want you to go." She whispers, letting her head loll to the side, Tommy's heart breaking further as she struggles for breath, letting out a hacking cough. Her tiny body sinks into the mattress in exhaustion, her eyes fluttering closed as Flora rubs at them, letting out a pitiful mewl; reaching her hands back out to Tommy, he doesn't hesitate this time to scoop her up, bed covers and all into his arms, letting her rest her tiny, exhausted body against his chest. Swaying her wordlessly in his arms, Tommy places a kiss to the top of her head, cupping her head to his chest with his free hand. Feeling her body finally fully relax against his, Tommy lifts his sister again, shushing her squeaks of protest to lay her back into her bed, teddy tucked up beside her underneath the quilt.

"I'm going to get my work, and bring it up here." He tells her softly, brushing her hair back from her sticky forehead and tucking it behind her ear. "I'll be right back. You won't even miss me, I'll be that quick." He jokes playfully, earning a small tired smile from Flora as she nods in response, eyes glued to Tommy as he rises from the floor, padding quickly out of the room and back down to the shop.

Within minutes, Tommy had returned, ledger and pencil in hand; dragging her desk chair over to the bed, Tommy feels Flora's eyes following him as he moves around the room, first lighting the fire, the settling into the chair, kicking his boots off and lifting his feet to rest on the edge of the bed, ledger placed on his lap, pencil in hand. "Close your eyes." He commands softly, eyes now glued to the figures in front of him, knowing that now she knew he was staying for a while, Flora would at least try to rest.

Nearly an hour had passed since Tommy had started working in Flora's room, the young girl having fallen asleep within minutes, when their aunt appears in the doorway, faltering at the sight of her nephew with his feet kicked up on the bed.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, stepping into the warm room and crossing her arms over her chest. Rolling his eyes at her greeting, Tommy drops his pencil onto the open page of the book, turning his head to look back at his aunt who was stood with her eyebrow raised, waiting for his answer.

"Hello Pol, nice to see you too." He jokes, copying her stance and crossing his arms over his chest. "I heard we have a poorly Flora, she came into the shop to look for me." He explains quickly as Polly opens her mouth to interrupt, holding up a hand to silence her. "Wouldn't let me go back to work so I figured I'd stay here with her, work from home if you will." Scoffing under her breath, Polly swats at Tommy's feet, her nephew dutifully dropping them to the floor to let her pass, watching carefully as she repeats his earlier actions of brushing the hair off of Flora's sticky forehead, frowning at the heat still radiating from it.

"I'll fix her up some medicine, and put the soup on. See if we can't get something hearty into her." Humming in response, Tommy nods his head, leaning forwards in his chair to brush the backs of his fingers over Flora's flushed cheeks.

"She looks bad, Pol." He whispers, moving his fingers to run gently through her hair, glancing briefly up at Polly who gives him a small smile.

"You've been through worse yourself when you were her age, she'll be ok." She reassures him, dropping a hand to his shoulder and squeezing gently.

"But she's so tiny." He protests, clearing his throat to clear the croak that was threatening to escape.

"She'll be ok." Polly repeats, squeezing his shoulder once more. "We'll make sure of it."

It takes days for the fever to finally break, Tommy remaining by Flora's bedside until finally she turns the corner. Coming to a stop outside Flora's bedroom door, Ada leans against the doorframe, listening to Tommy murmur softly to their sister, carefully feeding her spoonfuls of soup as she rests against the headboard.

"Hey Florrie." Ada calls as she watches Tommy place the empty bowl on the side, both siblings turning to look up at their sister as she drops gently to the edge of the bed, reaching a hand out to brush over Flora's hair. "I've got a nice hot bath ready for you." She tells her, smiling up at Tommy who replies with a tired smile of his own. "Go and get some rest, Tom." She states, holding her hand up as he opens his mouth to protest. "I've got Flora, we're going to have a bath and then snuggle up together in bed. She'll be ok, but you look like hell, you need to get some sleep." Hesitantly, Tommy glances down at Flora who had tucked her thumb in her mouth and had moved to lean against Ada in the time she had been talking. Nodding slowly, Tommy pushes himself to his feet, allowing himself a moment to stretch out his aching muscles, bending to press a kiss to Flora's forehead.

"I'll be back soon, ok?" He whispers to her, Flora nodding sleepily in response as he straightens again, throwing Ada a small, grateful smile as he leaves the room.

Upon reentering Flora's room a few hours later, Tommy is pleased to find his sister still sitting up in bed, picture book in her lap, mouthing the words to herself as she follows them with her finger. Dropping onto the bed beside her, Tommy tucks his arm around her, Flora immediately letting her body collapse against his, head tucked against his chest as she continues through the book. Running a hand over her head, Tommy presses a kiss to her hair, breathing in the familiar smell of soap, tugging on one of her plaits playfully to make her giggle; frowning slightly, Tommy lifts his hand to her forehead as a cough chases her giggle, wracking her body. When the coughing finally stops, Flora sighs deeply, her head snapping up in the direction of the window at the telltale sound of children playing out in the lane. Lifting her head to look up pleadingly at Tommy, she lets out another sigh at his sympathetic look followed by a shake of his head. "Sorry Flora, not today." He tells her gently, pressing another kiss to her head. "Not with a cough like that." Letting out a huff, flor drops back onto the bed, covering her face with her arms.

"But I'm bored!" She draws out, letting out a shriek as Tommy playfully digs his fingers into her sides.

"Let's play a game then." He decides as she shies away from him, rolling towards the wall.

"What game?" She asks, curling up onto her side, hands tucked under her cheek.

"Snakes and ladders?"

"We played that yesterday!" Flora protests, rolling onto her back again with a sigh. "I want to go outside!"

"And play what?" Tommy asks, pulling her back towards him, letting her climb into his lap.

"With Finny!"

"Not today." He tells her again with a shake of his head. "You're not running around the lane while you're still poorly." With a huff, Flora drops forward to rest against Tommy's chest.

"Can we play I spy?" She finally concedes, peering up at Tommy who nods.

"I spy with my little eye-" he begins, eyes snapping down to Flora's as she lifts her hand to clasp over his mouth to silence him.

"Outside!" Flora states, smile wide across her face as Tommy raises his eyebrows, sighing in defeat.

"Five minutes." He states, cupping her chin gently as she wiggles in his arms. "That's it. No more. And then back to bed. Got it?"

"Got it!" She repeats with a bounce, curling her pinky finger around Tommy's. Rising from the bed, Tommy lowers Flora to the floor, moving to the chest of drawers to pull out her thickest jumper, woolly hat, scarf and gloves. Pulling her to stand in front of him, Tommy kneels before Flora, first pulling the jumper down of her head, and then methodically placing the other necessary winter garments onto his sister, followed by a pair of thick socks, boots and her winter coat. Content that she was well and truly bundled up, Tommy swings Flora into his arms, heading out into Watery Lane, where he drops down onto the front step of the house, settling Flora in his lap, her back flush against his chest as they both breath in the crisp winter air.

"Finny!" Flora exclaims as he brother races past, running backwards with a smile at her call, coming to a stop in front of his brother and sister.

"Florrie!" He shouts in reply, glancing briefly up at Tommy who reads his brother's expression, nodding once to answer to his unspoken question, smiling as Finn, not even considering the friends around him, launches himself at his sister, flinging his arms around her. The pair, who were usually inseparable, had had to be apart for the better part of a week, Polly banishing Finn to Tommy's unused room to prevent the other youngest Shelby catching the same illness Flora had picked up.

"Go and play with your friends Finn." Tommy states softly, running a hand over Finn's head as he gently pushes him back int the direction of his friends who were playing at the other end of the lane.

"Can Finny sleep back in our room now?" Flora asks, her eyes following her brother who had raced back down to the other end of the lane, yet had paused just ahead of his group of friends, and was looking back at Flora, in Tommy's eyes, to check his little sister was ok. Giving him a subtle thumbs up and a nod, Tommy settles Finn's fears, the younger brother turning once more to join in the ball game. Turning his attention back to Flora, Tommy shifts her on his lap, curling an arm around her as she rests back against his chest once more. "One more night." He replies to her question. "Lets get this cough gone and then we'll think about it, alright?" At Flora's nod, Tommy hums, clearing his throat. "Ok...I spy with my little eye-"


End file.
